Chang-li watched as Young Master Feng strode into the center of the garden. He spoke loudly enough to attract everyone's attention. "My fellow cultivators," he bellowed. "Honorable Gem Court, my Grand Master has given me permission to let you be p...
2024-08-24 12:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostIt was bad enough to be coming in days behind the rest of my team, for the most important reality engine exploit of the past 200 cycles, but now I had to stop and pick up the boss's granddaughter on the way. I stewed.
My hired liner slid int...
2024-08-23 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostChang-li was relieved to see Jiya approaching him. He was out of place at this party, his brand-new grey robes not blending in nearly as well as he had hoped. Most of the servants wore brown. The cultivators were in their sect patterns, and...
2024-08-22 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
I stood on the bridge of the Ad Astra as she came through the transfer portal. Grandpa was in command, his tight face showing no sign of what he might be thinking at this time. The bridge crew were all Misfits Guild memb...
2024-08-21 12:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostJoshi had been given opulent quarters above one of the taverns. To his east were the cultivation offices and army structures, and just to the west, the cluster of buildings taken by the sects. Each of the three major sects represented here ...
2024-08-20 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostWelcome to Book 5! This will be the final volume of the Not My First (Space) Rodeo series, and I can't wait to share it with you.
Riko Den Haag was already nervous. This was supposed to be a simple snatch and grab bef...
2024-08-19 12:00:21 +0000 UTC View PostNo sooner had they arrived back at the scribe house than the other junior scribes surrounded Chang-li. "I didn't know you had a license to cultivate," Scribe Jun accused him.
"Were you really fighting that monster?" Tu asked. 2024-08-17 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Last Episode! Next week we are starting Space Rodeo Book 5, and I can't wait to delve deep into the rogue reality engine and pillage its secrets.
I visited the Duck Brotherhood vendor, where ...
2024-08-16 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostHow is it Book 2 already? Hope you're excited. I know I am!
"This inquiry will determine the causes, blame, and guilt for the recent incident inside Heavenly Tower 3525 – the Golden Moon Broken Tower," Inquisitor Z...
2024-08-15 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Duckling and I fast-traveled back to Quackitude, where I entered Shad's mansion and raided its stores. He'd done a lot better for himself than I had. I collected everything, sorting it into "keep" and "sell." Then we visited every ven...
2024-08-14 12:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostThis is the character sketch I wrote while creating the character of Hiroko. It may not exactly match the worldbuilding I've developed since, but it should give you a look at who the princess really is.
Princess Hirok...
2024-08-14 12:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostJoshi had not meant to lead the bird straight into a bunch of people. Why were there so many here? And not even all were cultivators.
He'd been running for his life. The roc and its babies chasing him through the jungle. He hoped he co...
2024-08-13 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostBefore I reached White Plume, I jogged east a little ways until I found the Rebel encampment. I approached the camp in Sneak. The guards were much higher level than me and could have seen right through me, but since I was a Rebel and on the...
2024-08-12 12:00:17 +0000 UTC View PostHiroko was in the middle of a sentence when she felt the lux patterns shift. She broke off. "Is everything alright, my lady?" Min asked, frowning at her.
"Do you feel..." Hiroko paused as a terrifying screech rent the air. Li Jen leapt up fr...
2024-08-10 12:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post"Oh, hey, Colin. I didn't realize you'd caught up with me. How's your exploit going?" Shad's calm voice, coming from what was clearly a black-clad masked vigilante, caught me off guard. I spluttered and hung on to the carriage seat as we raced awa...
2024-08-09 12:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostChang-li rejoined the group. He and Brother Stone said nothing about their fight. Instead, he waited as Li Jiya and her acolytes went out, found a beast similar to the one he and Brother Stone had fought, and dragged it back for the delight of the...
2024-08-08 12:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostAs I re-entered Driftwood to turn in my coal delivery quest, I came up short at an odd sight. A small duck, dressed in rags, with its name tag reading "Ragamuffin," blatantly pickpocketed a man shopping at one of the booths off of the main ...
2024-08-07 12:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostThe difficulty with cultivating in a large party quickly became apparent. First, Chang-li had official scribing duties. Li Jiya insisted he record their encounter with the tortoise. One of her acolytes had made his third condensation from t...
2024-08-06 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostJust FYI, I'm chugging along getting Space Rodeo 5 underway during this little intermission, and it's shaping up to be really, really awesome. We're going deep with this one. Elf court wars. Protoss hell. What REALLY were the Progenitors u...
2024-08-05 12:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostJoshi considered his situation. The five rogue cultivators had given him only a single name each, and he had given them his. They had an uneasy détente. The rogues harvested the rest of his slain beasts and roasted them while Joshi sat under a tr...
2024-08-03 12:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostNOTE: Missed posting this. Terribly sorry! Thanks to Rick for pointing it out! It comes right after they leave the tower and has some important character development for Chang-li
Chang-li spent t...
2024-08-02 22:33:55 +0000 UTC View Post
As the bandits moved towards me, I backpedaled quickly. They drew weapons, and I turned and bolted. In a flash, I was down the short corridor and into the next room, the bandits hot on my heels. As I passed the pillar, I caught sight ...
2024-08-02 12:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostThe expedition did not leave an hour after dawn. They barely started to assemble in the outer court by the bridge. The porters and servants were there on time. Chang-li noticed uncomfortably how many of the porters were slaves, wearing collars tha...
2024-08-01 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostNote: This is not necessarily canonical. It's the sketch I did while designing the character, and some parts may be obsolete, but I think it's a fun look at backstory that may or may not end up coming to the main plot! Just wanted to...
2024-07-31 13:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostSince coming into this fragment, I had been looking for things that were out of the ordinary. Some mysterious entity murdering an NPC to keep me from getting a starter quest definitely qualified.
Before I went anywhere, I took a moment to co...
2024-07-31 12:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostJoshi had made it to the Peak of Bodily Refinement. He was remade. His body felt stronger, like he had just emerged from a cold mountain pool. His muscles taut beneath his skin. The weariness of the last few days burned away. His lux channels ran ...
2024-07-30 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostChang-li had decided to get himself and Brother Stone into the same cultivating party. That would make it easier for him to ensure Stone's license held up to scrutiny. There were a number of licensed cultivators of the first stage around the camp ...
2024-07-29 13:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe road to Driftwood was dangerous. I had to run away from six bears, five wolves, and a vicious-looking fox. Three pairs of bandits killed me, but I was keeping a sharp eye out for all the standing stones along the way and just kept runni...
2024-07-29 12:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostThat night, there were two pieces of perfectly tinted parchment under Chang-li's sleeping mat. He stored them at once between two pages of his journal. Min had made it quite clear. Her price was for him to forge a license for Brother Stone as well...
2024-07-27 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe sixth floor gave off more violet lux than even outside of the pyramid. It seemed to ooze from the walls, like the entire purpose of this tower had been to purify violet lux. Joshi sucked in as much as he could, using it to wash his lux channel...
2024-07-26 13:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post